Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

An ancient weapon has completely destroyed the city of Windwir. From many miles away, Rudolfo, Lord of the Nine Forest Houses, sees the horrifying column of smoke rising. He knows that war is coming to the Named Lands.

Nearer to the Devastation, a young apprentice is the only survivor of the city — he sat waiting for his father outside the walls, and was transformed as he watched everyone he knew die in an instant.

Soon all the Kingdoms of the Named Lands will be at each others' throats, as alliances are challenged and hidden plots are uncovered.

This remarkable first novel from an award-winning short fiction writer will take readers away to a new world — an Earth so far in the distant future that our time is not even a memory; a world where magick is commonplace and great areas of the planet are impassable wastes. But human nature hasn't changed through the ages: War and faith and love still move princes and nations.

Review:

"Scholes's mesmerizing debut novel, the first installment of the five-volume Psalms of Isaak saga, launches him into the stratosphere of contemporary epic fantasy. Fueled by an impressively serpentine story line that explores deep philosophical issues of knowledge and power, the novel begins with a literal bang: Windwir, 'the world's greatest city' and home of 200,000 people as well as the famed Androfrancine Order and its enormous library, is completely destroyed by a mysterious weapon unleashed by an unknown foe. Left oddly untouched are the Androfrancines' mechoservitors, one of whom, Isaak, may be the only one who knows what happened and why. Readers will be intrigued by the subtle, adept world building and ensemble cast of brilliantly complex characters, but it's Scholes's pure storytelling prowess that makes this tale of devastation and retribution so unforgettable." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Review:

"This is the golden age of fantasy, with a dozen masters doing their best work. Then along comes Ken Scholes, with his amazing clarity, power, and invention, and shows us all how it's done. No more ponderous plotting — Scholes barely gives us time to breathe. Yet he creates vivid characters, a world thick with detail, and wonders we've never seen before. I wish my first novel had been this good." Orson Scott Card

Review:

"Ken Scholes is a hot new voice to watch for on the interesting frontier between science fiction and fantasy. He has a keen eye for action and a keen ear for the sounds of the human heart. Grab on now, because he's going places." Harry Turtledove

Review:

"Ken Scholes's Lamentation is an iconic SF story cloaked in fantasy, drawing raw material from classics such as A Canticle for Liebowitz and Earth Abides, but forging something new, with colorful characters, compelling scenes, and unfolding miracles." Kevin J. Anderson, bestselling co-author of Sandworms of Dune

Review:

"Ken Scholes' Lamentation is a whale of a first novel, set in a world where technological magic has come and gone, and come again, where organized religion has attempted to recover and restore lost knowledge, if with a certain amount of censorship, where no one is quite what they seem, and where parental ambitions for offspring are filled with deep love and sacrifices, along with double double-crosses, conflicting motives, and tragedy." L.E. Modesitt, Jr.

Synopsis:

This remarkable first novel from an award-winning short fiction writer takes readers to an Earth where magick is commonplace and great areas of the planet are impassable wastes. But human nature hasn't changed through the ages: War, faith, and love still move princes and nations.

Video

About the Author

Ken Scholes's short fiction has been appearing in various magazines and anthologies for the last eight years, including Realms of Fantasy, Polyphony 6 and Weird Tales. He is a winner of the Writers of the Future contest. Ken's background includes service in two branches of the military, a degree in history, a brief stint as a clergyman, an even briefer stint as a label-gun repairman, and over ten years' experience managing nonprofit organizations. Originally from the Puget Sound area, Ken currently lives in Gresham, Oregon, with his amazing wonder-wife Jen, two cats, five guitars, and more books than you'd ever want to help him move.

What Our Readers Are Saying

Average customer rating based on 3 comments:

Alice Sanvito, December 22, 2014 (view all comments by Alice Sanvito)
I'm afraid I'm not as articulate as the others at writing a review, but I just want to say I really enjoyed this book a lot. I wasn't so sure at first. I read a lot of science fiction and fantasy, but I'm not used to a story starting off with so much devastation. However, it was so engaging that I became very engrossed in it and didn't want it to end. It was given to me by a friend and I'm really glad. I recommend it.

Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No(0 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)

Douglas Cobb, June 7, 2009 (view all comments by Douglas Cobb)
Lamentation, the debut fantasy novel by Ken Scholes,centers its plot around the destruction of a city of learning with a vast library, Windwir, which gets devaated by an android (Isaak) programmed with a magical spell known as the Seven Cacaphonic Deaths. Afterwards, Isaak experiences something akin to a human breakdown for awhile, speaking words only backwards. Windwir was an Androfrancine city, the Androfrancines being the main religious order of the era, much like the Catholics have been in the past in Europe and other places aorund the world.

They are even ruled over by a Pope, and much of the story involves a war that develops between two contenders to be the Pope. There's a Pope the Overseer Sethbert has set up - (Sethbert is the man who is responsible for having Isaak reprogrammed with the spell, which besides destroying the city and its library destroys most of the Androfrancines) and there's Petronus, the so-called "Hidden Pope" who willingly renounced the Pope title over thirty years ago and rigged things up to make it look as if he had been assassinated.

The tale is told from several different characters' perspectives, and it's a very interesting debut novel from a man who used to be a Baptist preacher. There's a lot of intrigue, characters with multiple motivations, and very colorful characters like the Gypsy King Rudolfo of the Ninefold Forest Houses and the Marsh King, who turns out (in this carnation) to be a teenage girl who uses one of her subjects, a large, burly man, to portray the Marsh King to the outside world.

Ken Scholes's novel is a very well written debut novel, the first in a projected five book series. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the series plays out. I'd recommend Lamentation to anyone who likes SF and Fantasy books. The science is perhaps takes a back seat to the fantasy aspects, but as most people who like SF also like the Fantasy genre, if one is willing to suspend one's sense of belief - and, you pretty much have to to like books in these two genres, anyway - you're sure to enjoy Lamentation.

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Jorge, March 18, 2009 (view all comments by Jorge)
As I began this novel, I settled in for a good basic fantasy adventure, interesting characters, some battle scenes, and an epic battle between the Light and the Dark. It is that, and much more. The further I read, the better I liked it. I can feel threads of familiar cultures and familiar pieces of literature. The characters are complicated, each one containing aspects of Light and Dark. Indeed, in the first few chapters, it wasn't obvious who our heroes would be.

The story begins with what might be the final battle for many stories in this genre: a city, the city which houses this civilization's library and is the center of all its knowledge and teaching, is destroyed utterly, with a horrific magic spell recreated from ages past. The leaders of the remaining regions are left to piece together what has happened, who is responsible, and what to do next.

It has considerably more depth than I expected; many layers of intrigue and strategy are revealed as the novel unfolds. Intellect and education are valued, but we see it used both for good and for evil, and sometimes even for Darkness in the service of the Light. The duality and questions it raises are significant. In some ways it reminds me of Asimov's Second Foundation in structure, as not all is as it seems. Surprisingly, given the horrific genocide that starts the novel, it has a strong sense of hope that ribbons through it: that the Great Library can be rebuilt, at least partially; that the remaining peoples will find a new solidarity and a more cooperative coexistence; that while an old era has ended with unthinkable violence, a new era will be born with much promise. I kept turning the pages long past my bedtime.

This is the first novel in a planned series, but it also had a strong sense of completion at the end. I look forward not only to the next installment, but also to reading this novel again.

Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No(2 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)

"Publishers Weekly Review"
by Publishers Weekly,
"Scholes's mesmerizing debut novel, the first installment of the five-volume Psalms of Isaak saga, launches him into the stratosphere of contemporary epic fantasy. Fueled by an impressively serpentine story line that explores deep philosophical issues of knowledge and power, the novel begins with a literal bang: Windwir, 'the world's greatest city' and home of 200,000 people as well as the famed Androfrancine Order and its enormous library, is completely destroyed by a mysterious weapon unleashed by an unknown foe. Left oddly untouched are the Androfrancines' mechoservitors, one of whom, Isaak, may be the only one who knows what happened and why. Readers will be intrigued by the subtle, adept world building and ensemble cast of brilliantly complex characters, but it's Scholes's pure storytelling prowess that makes this tale of devastation and retribution so unforgettable." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Review"
by Orson Scott Card,
"This is the golden age of fantasy, with a dozen masters doing their best work. Then along comes Ken Scholes, with his amazing clarity, power, and invention, and shows us all how it's done. No more ponderous plotting — Scholes barely gives us time to breathe. Yet he creates vivid characters, a world thick with detail, and wonders we've never seen before. I wish my first novel had been this good."

"Review"
by Harry Turtledove,
"Ken Scholes is a hot new voice to watch for on the interesting frontier between science fiction and fantasy. He has a keen eye for action and a keen ear for the sounds of the human heart. Grab on now, because he's going places."

"Review"
by Kevin J. Anderson, bestselling co-author of Sandworms of Dune,
"Ken Scholes's Lamentation is an iconic SF story cloaked in fantasy, drawing raw material from classics such as A Canticle for Liebowitz and Earth Abides, but forging something new, with colorful characters, compelling scenes, and unfolding miracles."

"Review"
by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.,
"Ken Scholes' Lamentation is a whale of a first novel, set in a world where technological magic has come and gone, and come again, where organized religion has attempted to recover and restore lost knowledge, if with a certain amount of censorship, where no one is quite what they seem, and where parental ambitions for offspring are filled with deep love and sacrifices, along with double double-crosses, conflicting motives, and tragedy."

"Synopsis"
by Ingram,
This remarkable first novel from an award-winning short fiction writer takes readers to an Earth where magick is commonplace and great areas of the planet are impassable wastes. But human nature hasn't changed through the ages: War, faith, and love still move princes and nations.

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